The Regretful Traveler in Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost’s â€Å"The Road Not Taken† (rpt. In Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson, Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 10th ed. [Boston: Wadsworth, 2009] 725 presents itself with a traveler that is dissatisfied with the decision that he has to make. A situation of life sometime requires a decision to be made between two things that will have a huge impact in the end. The consequences are not always what we expect. I will now explain how Frost used literal and figurative techniques to describe a man traveling through the woods and his thoughts on deciding which road to take. Literally, the man appeared to be content with his travels until he reached the fork in the road, and had to make a decision. Figuratively, he is a man†¦show more content†¦Figuratively, he has to make a big decision, and does not have any one to give advice as to which road to take. In leaves no step had trodden black Perhaps the traveler gave up fun and irresponsibility to live what appears to be a responsible and productive life. The traveler stated that he would save the first road but knew that there was a chance that he would not come back to it, because he had anticipated finding more opportunities on the second road. In the last stanza the traveler indicates his regrets with a sigh. It is possible that he sighed because he missed out on life and could have had wealth, or the sigh could mean that he accepts the decision that he chose. The paradox that Frost uses when he put the sigh in the last stanza, allows the traveler to be satisfied with his decision or discontented. To give the poem a musical affect, Frost used masculine approximate rhyme, such as would and could, fair and wear, and black and back. He cleverly uses feminine rhyme in which only half of the word rhyme. Such as, hence and difference in the fourth stanza, and diverge and I in the first stanza. He uses both assonance and consonance on words that falls at regular intervals, and the rhyming is masculine. Frost also uses metonymy with the title The Road Not Taken because he is not actually talking about a road, he is talking about making a decision in life.Show MoreRelated The Other Road in Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken Essay1653 Words   |  7 Pages The Other Road in Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In his celebrated poem The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost describes the decision one makes when reaching a fork in the road. Some interpret Frost as suggesting regret on the part of the traveler as to not choosing the path he forgoes, for in doing so he has lost something significant. Others believe he is grateful for the selection, as it has made him the man he is. 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